Grain-door for cars.



N0'. 700,017. Patented sept. i2, |902.

T. N. BON DUBANT.

GRAIN 000B Fon cAns.

(Application led Apr. 25, 1902.)

(No Model.)

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" 'UNITED STATES 'PATENT FFICE.

THOMAS Nl BON nU-RANT, or MOUNDRIDGE, KANSAS.

GRAIN-DOOR FOR CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 708,017, dated September 2, 1902.

Application filed .April 25, 1902.

To-LLZZ whom iii-may concern:

Be it known that LTHOMAS N. BON DURANT,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Moundridge, in the county of McPherson and Stateof Kansas, have invented' a new and useful Grain-Door vfor Cars, ofnwhich the following is a specification.v My invention is an improved grain-door for cars, one object of my invention being to efvffect improvements in the construction of the door, a further object being to eect impro vements in the construction of the casing in which the door lies when the same is opened, and a further object being to provide means whereby the doormay bereadily closed and whereby the doors on opposite sides of the car may be connected together to prevent them from being buckled outwardly by the pressure ofthe grain. l With these and vother objects in view my invention consists in the peculiar construction and combination of devices hereinafter fully set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a portion of a car provided with a grain-door embodying my improvements, showing the door closed in full lines and opened in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view of the same, showing the doors closed and the chains with-which they are provided connected together and disposed transversely in the car to preventthe doors from being bent outwardly bythe grain. Fig. 3 is a detail vertical sectional view taken through' the casing in which the door is disposed when the same is open.

My improved grain-door 1 is made of plate metal, preferably steel and preferably of a single piece. In practice the said door is only about an` eighth of an inch thick, and the same is comparatively light, as will be understood. The upper edge of the door is turned inwardly at right angles to form a reinforcing-ange 2, which greatly strengthens the upper portion of the door, and the latter is also provided on its inner side at a point between its lower and upper edges with a longitudinally disposed strengthening bar 3, which is here shown as a metallic channeled bar having its channel on its inner side. In practice the said bar 3 is made of steel plate Serial No. 104.665. (No model.)

of the same thickness as that from which the door is manufactured. The door is disposed on the inner side of a side wall a of the car. Its lower edge runs in a longitudinal groove b in the `bottom or floor of the car, and the said door is adapted to'be moved longitudinally to close or open the doorway c. The door is provided with an opening 4. near its lower edge and preferably in the center thereof. Said opening 4 may be covered or uncovered by a vertically-movable slide-door 5, which operates in a guide-frame 6, that is secured to the inner side of the door l. A link 7, which is vertically disposed, has its lower end forked and secured to the slidedoor '5. The said link passes through an opening in the bar 3 and is adapted to move vertically therein, andA on the inner side of Y the door, near the upper edge thereof, is

fulcrumed a lever 8, which is connected to ythe upper end of the link, andby means of which lever the said door 5 may be operated, as will be understood. A chain 9 hasits inner end connected to the door, at the center thereof on its inner side, immediately above the bar 3, as at 10. The door is further provided near its front upper corner with a hook 11, adapted to be engaged bythe outer end of said chain to support the same when the door is' closed and before the car is loaded, as shown in Fig. 1.` Itwill be understood -that the chain being immediately above the bar 3 is disposed to lie on the said bar, and

it will be observed that the length of thev chain is such that its outer end will extend beyond thefront side of the door when said chain is disposed at length on said bar. Hence when the door is opened Yand contained or disposed in the casing12, which is on the inner side of the side wall of the car, the outer end of the chain will project from the front side of said casing and said door, and the said chain maybe readily grasped and used for drawingthedoort-oaclosed position.. Springcatches 13 are here shown secured to the inner side of the car. to engage the-front portion of the door when the same is closed. I also show the door'as provided 'with a hasp 14, adapted to engage the staple 15 in the side wall ofthe car, and show a key 16 toenter said staple, and thereby secure the door in a closed position. Anysuitable means may IOO be employed to secure the door when closed, and I do not limit myself in this particular. The casing 12, in which the grain-door is disposed to lie when the same is open, is on the inner side of the side wall of the car and is here shown as comprising vertical studs 17, a plate 18, and a sheathing or inner wall 19, the outer side of the casing being formed by the side wall a of the car. The studs 17 are spaced from the wall a a sufficient distance to enable the door to pass between them and said wall, and the sheathing or inner side 19 of the casing is provided at its lower side with openings 20, which in practice are about two inches wide and of suitable length, the said openings allowing the escape of all grain that may find its way to the interior of the casing.

Vhen the grain-doors ofthe car are closed, the chains 9 thereof have their inner ends hooked orY otherwise coupled together, as shown at 21 in Fig. 2. The said chains when thus disposed brace the grain-doors from lateral stress from within and prevent the grain-doors from being bulged or buckled outwardly by the pressure of the grain against their inner sides, as will be understood.

Agrain-door thus constructed may be manufactured at slight cost, is exceedingly strong and durable, and being made entirely of metal is not likely to be carried O and used for other purposes by dishonest persons. It is well known that car-doors are commonly constructed of wood and that the same are usually stolen and used for fire-wood. By the use of my improved grain-door an economy can be effected in this particular, as the same is no temptation to dishonest persons.

Having thus described my invention, I claiml. A car having oppositely-disposed doors, coupling elements connected thereto and adapted to be disposed across the car and to be connected together, for the purpose set forth, said doors having supports on theirinner sides for said coupling elements, when the latter are disconnected from each other, substantially as described.

2. A car having oppositely-disposed sliding doors, casings to receive the doors when the same are opened, flexible coupling elements connected to the doors and adapted to be connected together when the doors are closed, for the purpose set forth, said doors being provided on their inner sides with longitudinally-disposed bars forming supports for said coupling elements when the latter are disconnected from each other and the doors are opened, substantially as described.

3. A grain-door for cars, made of sheet or plate metal having its upper side bent laterally to strengthen the same, having a longitudinally-disposed bar on its inner side at a point intermediate the upper and lower sides ofthe door, a coupling-chain secured at one end to the door above the bar, and a support carried by the door, to detachably engage the free end of the coupling-chain, substantially as described.

4. A car having oppositely-disposed doors, flexible elements connected thereto and means to secure said flexible elements together when the doors are closed to brace the doors against the outward pressure of the grain, substantially as described.

5. A car having oppositely-disposed doors, and coupling elements connected thereto and adapted to be disposed across the car and to be connected together, to brace the doors against the outward pressure of the material with which the car is loaded, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aiiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS N. BON DURANT.

Witnesses:

J. T. BON DURANT, C. A. SMITH. 

